Starting Sunday, June 24. writer
Aaron Sorkin takes a
crack at showing what being a journalist is really like -- while still keeping in interesting -- with HBO's new series,
"The Newsroom."

"His Girl Friday" (1940):
"The Front Page" has been filmed several times, but this variation that makes the newspaper tale a romantic comedy -- thanks to the great battle of the sexes between
Cary Grant and
Rosalind Russell -- arguably is the most engaging.

"Ace in the Hole"(1951): Also known as
"The Big Carnival," director
Billy Wilder's cynical drama casts a fearless
Kirk Douglas as a down-on-his-luck reporter who tries to exploit a cave-in.

"Sweet Smell of Success" (1957): It doesn't unfold in a literal newsroom, but this searing drama of a cruel columnist (
Burt Lancaster) who manipulates a desperate publicist (
Tony Curtis) must be on any list of great newspaper dramas.

"All the President's Men"(1976): Maybe the most thrilling newspaper drama yet made is a true story, as anyone who knows the name Watergate knows, with
Robert Redford and
Dustin Hoffman as relentless reporters
Bob Woodward and
Carl Bernstein.

"Network" (1976): Thirty-six years later, critics and journalists still marvel at the prescience of writer
Paddy Chayefsky - who yielded Oscar-winning roles for
Faye Dunaway and
Peter Finch -- about the then-future of TV news.

"Absence of Malice" (1981): The target (
Paul Newman) of a leaked story cleverly evens the score with those who smeared him, including the main reporter (
Sally Field), in director
Sydney Pollack's very smart drama.

"Broadcast News" (1987): Writer-director
James L. Brooks proves he knows his stuff about the business in this superb comedy-drama about a love triangle (
William Hurt, Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks) in a Washington network bureau ... and also about much more.

"State of Play" (2009): This underrated Americanization of an acclaimed British miniseries boasts strong work by
Russell Crowe as a veteran reporter investigating an old pal (
Ben Affleck), a politician whose mistress has died suspiciously.

"Morning Glory" (2010): It may lack the gravitas of other movies on this topic, but this comedy about the morning news show wars is a pure delight, thanks to
Rachel McAdams' sunniness as a determined producer and
Harrison Ford's surliness as a grouchy co-anchor.